Michael motioned for us to follow him through the “Dorm” entrance. There were six doors, three to each side of the long, narrow hall, and one door up ahead.
“That door, right in front of us, is the only bathroom that we have,” Michael explained. “The girls clean it and the boys do the yard work.”
I gasped. “It’s co-ed here?”
Ally rolled her eyes. “Yes, Lisa. It’s just like France. Everyone uses it.”
“At the same time?” My heart pounded. What if someone saw me in the shower? What if Michael saw me taking a dump? That would be so humiliating.
“Yeah, obviously if it’s co-ed but don’t worry, everyone is used to it,” Michael explained.
“Ally, can I shower at your place?”
She laughed. “Lisa Brown, stop being a big baby. Everyone showers and it’s not a big deal.”
“What about when I have to go to the bathroom? Everyone will know what I’m doing.”
“And what you ate for dinner, too,” Michael said, pulling a strand of my hair. “I can’t wait; I hope I’m there for your first bathroom experience.”
“Thanks a lot, Michael,” I rolled my eyes. “You’re a real pal.”
“Any time, hey, look this is your room.” He kicked the door and it burst open. There was a lone twin bed and a bunk bed. The room had a small closet, an old fashioned writing desk and a bureau.
“It feels like a cell.”
“It is,” Ally sighed. “Why do you think I stay at my house?”
“Because you hate us,” Michael said. He dropped our bags onto the twin. “See you at lunch.”
“Okay, bye, Michael.”
“Where’s Donna?”
“How should I know? Do I look like her keeper?”
“You don’t have to get an attitude, Ally.”
“Well, it’s like, Donna, is the only thing you seem to talk about.”
“Shut up.”
“I get the top bunk.”
“Whatever, I prefer the bottom anyway.”
“Why are you so moody, Lisa Brown?”
“I’m a freak and I’m not sure what’s going on with me. I have purple eyes, I had a seizure today and touching your brother hurts me. I still can’t understand why it would hurt before the lightning (or after for that matter). He seemed to think it was the lightning but if I had the problem before I was struck then there’s a problem with me; I mean, why would I hurt beforehand? I’m a freak of nature. I thought it was the two of you who were the freaks, but maybe it was me all along!”
Ally put her hand on my shoulder. “You aren’t the only freak at this school, so don’t worry. We’ll figure it out, I promise. I won’t let anything terrible happen to you.”
Ally and I sat on the single bed. She leaned her shoulder against mine. My bottom lip quivered. I was a freak. Not only was I a freak, but no one would tell me anything.
Out in the hall, someone screamed. The pain I felt inside was just like that screaming. Was that me making that noise? No. It was someone else.
Michael burst in our dorm room. His eyes were red and tears streamed down his face. What had happened to him? His chest heaved up and down.
“What happened, Michael?”
He couldn’t speak. His mouth opened but nothing came out.
“Michael,” I whispered. “What’s happened? Are you okay?”
“My mother,” he shouted. “She’s dying. I have to go right now.”
“You know the rules.” Ally stood up and folded her arms across her chest. “No leaving when school starts.”
“But Ally, it’s my mother.”
She avoided his eyes. “Fine, whatever, just go.”
“I’ll go with you,” I grabbed my jacket. “Let’s go.”
“We’ll take my truck.”
Ally’s face burned bright red. “You can’t take her with you!”
“I can go wherever I want whenever I please.”
“Fine, foolish girl,” Ally growled. “Alex will set you straight.”
“We better hurry,” Michael decided. He grabbed my arm. “It’ll make my mom happy to meet you, anyhow.”
We raced out of the school and I climbed into his pickup truck. He glanced over nervously. “Thanks for coming with me. I really appreciate it.”
“It’s what friends do.”
“You’ll learn that at C I N, the rules come first, before family, friends and even yourself.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s the way that we survive. I’ve always been sort of a rule breaker, though.” Michael backed out of the schoolyard and hit the gas, stalling the engine. “I’ve almost been expelled, so to say.”
“Why?”
“Because last year, my father died and I went to the funeral.”
“Who tried to expel you?”
“Let’s stop talking about this, I’m getting nervous.”
“Ok, for now, but I expect an answer later.”
We pulled up to the same hospital where I’d been when the lightning hit me. Michael hurried inside. I had to run just to keep up. He wrapped his hand around my waist and pulled me forward guiding me through the halls.
Inside a hospital room a lone woman with white hair sat upright in her bed. She looked out the window and held the telephone in her hand as if she’d forgotten how to use it. “Michael, are you there?”
“No, it’s your son, Bill.” A man in his late thirties stood, leaning over the woman. “What’s the matter, mom?”
“I want to see my Michael.”
How did she have a son so old? If her one son was forty then that would make Michael and Bill about twenty-five years a part. The woman would’ve had to be in her forties when she had Michael but even that wasn’t possible. Michael was seventeen and if she was seventy or so she would’ve had to be in her late fifties or about sixty at conception. Maybe he was adopted?
“Momma, I’m right here.” Michael stepped forward. He placed his hand on her and his brother glanced angrily at him.
“Oh, son, I’m going to miss you desperately.”
He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I love you so much. I wish there was something that I could do.”
“Well, there isn’t,” Bill snapped. “Keep your freaky voodoo to yourself.”
“I don’t practice voodoo. I already told you.”
“Then why are you still seventeen? Bill asked. “I am your younger brother.”
“Shhh,” Michael clasped his hand over his brother’s mouth. “Stop talking so loud. I’ll get in great trouble if someone finds out.”
“You’ll be a science experiment. The government will take you all away and poke and cut into you until you’re nothing but a vegetable.”
“Boys, please, I’m dying. That’s enough. I’m happy that Michael is my son and I’m proud of the man that he’s become.”
“But Momma, he’s a freak of nature!” Bill smacked himself in the forehead.
“I’ll probably be just like you for coming today. The rules are to stay on campus and I left. So, I may be moving in with you soon.”
Bill dropped into his chair. “I didn’t know; I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, I’m just happy I got to see you and momma. Rules will never stop me from seeing my family; no matter the consequence.”
“Michael, what’s going on?” I crept inside the room. What did Bill mean by, Michael was the oldest son? My hands trembled and I couldn’t breathe.
His mom looked over and grinned. She had dark brown eyes and a nose just like Michael’s. “Who is this? Is that Lisa Brown? Is she the latest edition?”
Michael nodded. “Yes, Momma, but she doesn’t know anything about us yet.”
“That isn’t very fair. I think you should do the right thing. It’s about time someone stood up to those two monsters. Come to me, child.”
I obeyed, stepping closer. She had Bill and Michael lift her up more so she could get a good look at me. “Lisa, you have purple eyes; just like Fra
nk did when he was struck.”
“Wh-who is Frank?”
“He was one of you once.”
“One of me?”
“Yes, there’re several of you. You’re not alone, and Michael is going to tell you.”
“Momma!”
“It is my dying wish! You must tell her the truth.”
“But,” Michael swallowed, “They’ll make me touch Pig for sure.”
“That won’t be the end of the world, now will it?” His mother placed her trembling hands on his cheeks. “You should always do what’s right, no matter the consequence.”
“Pig? Why would they make you touch Pig? I don’t understand.” My lips quivered “Is something wrong with my dog?”
“Michael, you’re supposed to be in class.” Alex stormed in grabbing me by the arm. A jolt of pain rushed through me and I grimaced. “Why would you bring Lisa? That’s insanity.”
“You hush up, you monster.” The old woman pointed her index finger at Alex. “Look at me boy. I know you.”
Alex turned and glared at the older lady. His eyes closed. I felt him tremble. Why was he afraid of this poor little old lady? She knew his secrets. What secrets?
“Young man, you have the power to do good, but your sister shall be the end of you. Why don’t you eliminate the true cause of the problem? Why take it out on those who are just being human?”
“Because she’s my sister and I have rules to protect them not her. It was the biggest mistake I have ever made; saving them. I never should’ve listened to you.”
I jerked away. How could saving someone be a mistake? He really was cruel. “You evil—”
“Lisa, you don’t have any right to pass judgment on me. You know nothing.”
“Whose fault is that, Alex?”
He leaned close, “Mine. Come with me and I’ll tell you the truth.”
“What about Michael?”
“He’s busy with his family right now.”
Alex guided me out into the lobby. His hands trembled and his eyes watered. “What I’m about to tell you is going to be overwhelming so why don’t we go back to my house for the evening?”
Seventeen
Truth Has Many Faces
Alex and I walked all the way home and he led me into his bedroom. He peeked under his bed and pulled out an album of pictures. “Sit on the bed,” he ordered, tossing hundreds of photos on the comforter. “I want to show you something.”
“Why is Michael afraid of Pig? Why can’t I touch the cat or dog? Why are my eyes purple?”
“Calm down, I’ll answer everything.” Alex frowned, “Well, almost everything. It’s a lot to take in especially in one evening.”
“Tell me about you first.” I leaned in close, touching my knee to his. A little jolt of pain shot through me but it quickly subsided for the both of us.
“You know that our bodies are made up of cells and they renew themselves continuously. That’s what keeps us from deteriorating or growing old. But after a certain age, our bodies mysteriously stop regenerating new cells at the same rate; the cell reproduction process slows down and then we grow old and die. Scientists do not understand why our bodies do this and believe that we were designed to live forever. They even point out that by the time we are eighty years old we’ve only used 1/10th of 1% of our brain. That’s the size of a period on a piece of paper. This shows us that our brains were meant to last much, much longer than a century.”
“Oh, wow, but what does this have to do with me?”
“Everything,” Alex took my hands. “I’m Mathew Mood.”
I jerked back, racing for the door. He was there instantly, blocking my exit. “Let me out of here. There is no way you are a three hundred year old teenager.”
“It’s true.”
“You were burned!”
“The lightning fixed whatever was wrong with my cell regeneration and I’m immune to disease, and that is inaccurate—they never burned me. I ran away and the courts decided to make me an example and they staged a fake burning.”
“What about Jane? Was she really burned? Is she Ally?”
“Yes, she is Ally and no, she wasn’t really burned.”
“What about your father?”
Alex guided me back to his bed. He forced me to sit and when I did he grabbed my face and leaned in close. “The lightning changed me. I used to be very mellow and I had a lot of friends too, but once I was hit by the lightning, my hair lightened, my eyes, which used to be brown but they turned blue and whenever I touched someone I could feel their pain and knew basically all their secrets.”
“That’s impossible. You cannot feel someone’s feelings.” I crossed my arms.
“I agree, it’s unexplainable, scientifically at this point. Now, science tries to use electricity to spark cell regeneration, so I can comprehend why the lightning worked. It’s a special kind of lightning, though. I believe there are two types. The one that hit me and the one that struck Ally ten years later.”
“How is Ally different?”
“She used to be a redhead with dark blue eyes. The lighting lightened her hair over the years and soon there will not be any red left. Her eyes have changed and she is unable to feel physical pain. She’s also immune to Pig.”
“Pig?”
“Oh, how do I explain this to you?” Alex motioned for me to lay back. I obeyed. Not because I wanted to be close to him but because I needed his touch. I felt like an addict. Except my drug was Alex. It angered me and I felt almost ashamed.
“Just say it, I’m not ignorant.”
“It’s not that, I just have a hard time explaining this.” Alex brushed his fingers through my hair. “Ally and I can use the lightning to our advantage. When we are extremely upset we cause storms and can direct our personal lightning.”
“Direct your lightning? What does that mean?”
“It means that I can meditate on a person and actually strike them with lightning.”
I leaned up. “Did you strike me?”
“I’ll get to that, stop jumping ahead.”
“You better not tell me you did.”
“Calm down, I’m trying to explain things to you.” He sighed, getting up and walking over to his recliner chair. He turned on the light and grabbed a portrait. “Pig and Rat belonged to Ally and me. We wanted to keep them forever but animals are not designed like us. They were not meant to live eternally and so there were some serious complications. Pig’s cells regenerate much faster but he has aged over the past three hundred or so years. He also has a serious defect. If you touch him you lose your longevity. Frank touched him and now he is in his forties. He stays at the school every now and then but he isn’t like us anymore.”
“What about the cat?”
“I’ll leave that one for another day.” Alex handed me an old photograph of himself with Ally and the pets. “To answer your question about my father—Joseph Mood; he died of old age.”
“Why didn’t you just zap him with lightning?”
“Well, I did.”
“Then why did he grow old? I thought you said you could make people live forever?”
“No, I never said forever. I don’t know how long we will live. The lightning did speed up our cell regeneration. We just don’t seem to age and we’re immune to disease.”
“But what about your father; how did he die?”
“It appears that the lightning can only work on those eighteen or younger. We figure it’s because the cell regeneration process has not slowed down yet in the body. The only thing that happens for those older than eighteen is they become free of disease. I actually saved Aunt Millie from death. She had cancer and it was terminal.”
“What about Michael and the rest of the kids at C I N? I noticed that they all had light eyes just like you and Ally. Are they like you, too?”
“Sort of.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, okay, in the eighties, a lot of Lynn had factories and they were burned
down so that the owners could collect insurance money. I was walking by and I heard screaming inside one of the abandoned warehouses. It was on fire and I couldn’t just let them burn to death. The thought still makes me sick.”
“What were they doing in there?”
“Probably having a party or something. Who knows. I don’t think the owner of the building knew they were in there. Anyhow, I zapped the building and now they are all immune to disease and have longevity. But they do not have tireless energy like Ally and I have, nor do they have any extraordinary abilities.”
“What about pain? Do they feel pain when you touch them?”
“Yes, they do. And that’s why I wasn’t surprised when you said you felt pain. But it still perplexes me as to why you felt my pain before you were struck by lightning.”
“It was you who struck me. It was you telling me to hurry on home, you were manipulating the weather and that probably caused all those natural disasters I saw on the news!”
“Actually, Ally and I both struck you. She thought I was going to let you leave Lynn and jumped the gun. So you have both of our traits. Her type of lightning seems to make her numb, she is immune to Pig and she has uncontrollable rage. She’s not the same person she once was. I’m petrified of her sometimes.”
“Why was I leaving Lynn?”
“Who knows…”
“You’re lying to me, aren’t you?”
“I plead the fifth.”
“You are.”
“I did it to protect you. I didn’t want you to feel pain anymore.”
“I just thought of something.”
“What? What’s your epiphany?”
“You’ve never had a girlfriend because it hurts you and it also hurts the girl when you make physical contact!”
“Are you still thinking about that?”
“Yes, now go back to the lightning. Why was I leaving Lynn?”
“Can’t you stick to one subject?”
The C I N Series Bundled Page 12